Evermore
by Godric's Pen
Summary: Book One of the Evermore Trilogy: Lou Greenbriar never knew there was so much in the world to know. Or more specifically Mr. Aarons' world.
1. Photograph

**So after watching Bridge to Terabithia, (2007 film), my insides still writhe with sadness and that oh-so-familiar 'that's not fair!' feeling, there's a deep pit in my stomach, and overall, I feel like burying my face burying my face in apillow and screaming into it while kicking my feet and pounding my fists like a child throwing a temper tantrum.**

**Yeah. I was that moved. **

**Me and my little sister were all like, " Oh, yay! It's like Narnia! But with Josh Hutcherson!"**

**The movie was cute, and spirited, and awesome...**

**Then it was like BAM!; Leslie's dead. Drowned in the creek, bro. **

**The part that got me the worst was when Jess says, " Next time, we should invite Leslie. She'd like that."**

**I was practically wallowing; the poor boy's in denial over his loss! The fictional boy and his fictional loss! Its heartbreaking!**

**Then my little sister gave me the deadpan look and said, " It's just a movie, it's not real, stop crying!" Which prompted me to reply with a watery, whiney, and ever so witty, " Shut up!" **

**So now I feel all empty, and I'm writing this to put a little cheer and happy-ending-feel back into my hollow chest. **

**Well thats the end of this rant. Here's to a beautiful, bittersweet movie, enjoy.**

* * *

A slender, tanned girl with messy brown hair, wearing baggy, hand-me-down boys' clothes boarded her bus alone, walking down the aisle to an empty seat.

That's Lou Greenbriar, the most isolated sixth grader in Lark Creek.

Lou was most definitely one of those mysterious, closed off loners, partly because she didn't want to participate with the other mean, cranky, pubescent children, and partly because nobody would be caught dead doing anything other than insulting " Lou-ser the Farm Girl".

A sneaker-clad foot shot out suddenly, making Lou stumble and fall, skinning her hands and knees.

" Have a nice trip?" Wen Hayes taunted above her.

" I'm surprised you could afford it, farm girl." His crony, Andy Rusher guffawed.

The whole bus shook with raucous laughter. Lou forced her face to remain impassive, though her freckled cheeks flushed brightly, and plopped down in her seat, staring fixedly out the window.

_Dumb bus driver doesn't notice anything_. She thought as she rolled her eyes.

But Lou was fine, so what if she got picked on? So what if she didn't have any friends? She had thick skin and stiff upper lip, that was all she needed.

You didn't survive in a household of five bigger, and apparently better, brothers and a somewhat neglectful, distant father by being some wussy, oversensitive girly-girl.

The bus jolted as it hit a pothole, and Lou absentmindedly burrowed further into the seat and tightened her hands around her backpack to avoid falling out. Stupid, slippery leather seat.

_Tap-ta-tap-ta-tap-tap-tap, _Lou hit her knuckles against the window rhythmically.

_Hm, hmm, hm, hm, _she hummed under her breath.

She snapped her fingers quietly, smiling at the sounds.

Lou quickly wiped it off of her face.

_Head out of the the clouds._ She reminded herself.

It didn't work.

The tune still bounced around in her mind, screaming to be let out.

Okay, so Lou had a little secret; she loved music.

She loved to see it, hear it, make it.

Music, music, music.

She loved to stomp her feet and clap her hands, she loved to dig out her mom's old CDs and listen to them at volumes that would burst most people's eardrums, when no one was home.

Music, music, music.

Over the years, she'd taught herself how to play a few instruments, guitar, drums, piano.

But it wasn't as if it was going to get her anywhere though.

That's how it is here in this tiny town, if you're lucky enough to get into college, you scramble the heck out of Dodge and have a career, and if not, you do whatever job your parents did before you.

And you certainly could not make a living with a stupid, schoolgirl fascination with "worthless noise".

Her father had reminded her of that all too often.

Still, she couldn't help that she had a musician's mind, the urge to strum a guitar was constant, the desire to dance her fingers over piano keys was unquenchable.

Oh well, no one would know that she even had any musical talent at all anyway, nobody would ever suspect that a farm girl could actually be anything other than, well, a farm girl.

_Dumb clichés. _

The bus halted with an unpleasant screech, and Lou clambered to stand and make her way out the folding door, this time cleverly avoiding the Wen's foot.

" See you," Lou mumbled to driver.

The huge vehicle pulled away with another squeal and Lou moped her way down the road to her house.

Lou's home was a small, two story building, painted a faded blue color.

The outside was surrounded by two flower gardens, a cow pen, a henhouse, and a greenhouse.

Inside, it was cramped and rather cluttered.

Downstairs, there was a tiny living room with two mismatched couches, an old recliner, and a little T.V.

Adjacent to living room, was the kitchen and eating area which included a wooden table and eight chairs. One was always empty.

Upstairs, there were four bedrooms; one for Lou's father, two for her brothers, three in each, and one for Lou.

The rooms were small, each painted with some ugly grey-yellow color that reminded Lou something of a boiled egg yolk.

And they all shared one bathroom. _What fun_.

Lou approached the screen door, her indifferent expression firmly in place, and stepped into the house.

" Hey, Lou," her oldest brother, Harper, called from the kitchen table.

" Hi." she replied neutrally.

Harper was something like a surrogate mother, as theirs had died a long time ago. He did the cooking and washing, making sure everyone else was taken care of before he took care of himself.

At the moment, Harper was filling out college applications. He was the brightest senior in Lark Creek High, and was applying to several colleges.

And the whole family knew what that meant.

When he left, the entire family would spiral into an unorganized, unwashed, unhappy doom.

Not that they were far away from it now.

" Hi, Little Lou," the sixteen year old twins, Ronny and Ray shouted from the living room, absorbed in the television.

Ronny and Ray were the mischievous type, cracking jokes everywhere, always playing pranks at school.

No one seemed to mind, no, they were quite popular for it.

" Hey," she answered, ignoring their much despised nickname for her and snagging an apple from the counter and taking a large bite.

" Where's Dad?" Lou wondered, her words slurred due to her full mouth.

" Still at work," said Mike, the fifteen year old in the family, walking in from the backdoor, a basketball tucked under his right arm and Terry in tow, a fourteen year old freshman. They were each stars of the high school's basketball team, beloved and admired.

Lou nodded idly, unsurprised.

Their father worked very long hours at the auto repair shop.

She started to trudge up the stairs, grunting when Harper told her that dinner would be ready soon.

She shut the door to her room, collapsing onto her bed with a groan, pulling out her music book.

Lou's music book was where she emptied the melodies that got stuck in her brain. Hundreds of sheets of paper were filled with assorted musical compositions.

She took it everywhere, it was important to her.

It was also very private. If you looked inside without permission, you would most likely be sucker-punched in the nose.

Or anywhere really, she wasn't fussy where she hit you.

Lou examined the pages covered in her messy scrawl, looking for something to occupy her.

She glanced at her watch absently, then did a double take, and shot up as she realized she was late for 'work'.

She bounded down the stairs, grabbing her sweatshirt and yanking on her shoes in record time, only pausing to glare when Ronny smirked, " Tardy again, Little Lou?"

She ran out the door without any other reply.

Geez, if she kept being late like this, Mr. Aarons might not let her keep this gig.

Her family weren't the only farmers in town, old Mr. Aarons was one too, and Lou made extra money by helping him out after school.

Little, everyday chores, like raking leaves, taking out garbage, whatever.

Lou dashed down the street, recognizing the dirt road at once, wincing as she saw her 'employer' standing, waiting, on the porch.

" You're late again, Lou," he chuckled.

" Yes sir, I'm sorry, I got, um..." She gulped air awkwardly. "...sidetracked."

" S'alright." Mr. Aarons smiled, handing her a rake that was taller than her.

Lou began to do the task, a deep frown etching its way across her face.

" Everything okay?" Mr. Aarons asked after a bit.

" Fine," Lou answered distractedly, shaking a few caught leaves out of the rake's comb.

" Lou." Mr. Aarons said sternly.

" Yes sir?"

" Come inside." He requested.

She leaned the rake on a tree and followed him in.

He led her to the kitchen, motioning for her to sit at the table. " Want a cookie?" He asked, offering her an Oreo. She took it with a gruff, "Thanks."

" Do you live here all by yourself, sir?" Lou asked after a beat, looking around the house.

" Yeah," Mr. Aarons nodded.

" No wife? Or kids?" Lou tilted her head.

" No," a smile graced his face.

" Hm. Not even a girlfriend?" She grinned too.

" I want to show you something," Mr. Aarons dodged her question, and led her to his living room.

He gestured to a wall, where there was a large photograph of an eleven year old girl with short blonde hair and a happy grin, her clothes fluorescent and mismatched.

" Hey..." Lou raised an eyebrow. " That's Leslie Burke, right?"

Mr. Aarons nodded sadly.

" She died a long time ago, though, didn't she? There's a tree in her memory at my school." Lou recalled.

" Why do you have a picture of her, sir?"

Mr. Aarons gave a pained smile that didn't reach his eyes.

" I knew her."

" Oh." Lou blinked. " Was she your friend?"

" My best friend." He closed his eyes, and Lou swore she'd never seen him look so...old and tired.

Yet at the same time, Lou got a flash of depressed little boy in his face, not so different from herself.

" Oh," Lou's voice sounded small. " How did she die?"

" S-she-" Mr. Aarons sucked in a breath before lowering his head. " She drowned. In a creek between our houses. She lived in the old empty one next door."

" I'm so sorry, sir." Lou hardly knew what else to say. " Why did you show me this?" She wondered, baffled, looking up at him.

" Leslie always used to make me so happy. She still does. I thought maybe she'd brighten up your day too." Mr. Aarons' lips quirked up slightly.

Lou's eyes traced over the big, framed photo again.

Leslie's grin was large, the corners of her face crinkled, eyes sparkling. She looked so carefree. Her smile was infectious, and Lou couldn't help but smile back.

" It almost feels real," she murmured.

" What does?" Mr. Aarons inquired, now searching her eyes, almost critically, as if desperately looking for something.

" H-her," Lou said uncertainly, pointing at Leslie's dazzling face, " It feels like she's right here, in the room with us."

Mr. Aarons looked kind of blown away, before he smiled at her.

" Oh, she is," he said tenderly. "She always is."

" What do you mean, sir?" Lou asked confusedly.

" Well, I've kept her with me, in here," he patted his chest, over his heart, " She'll never really be gone, so long as I-" " Mr. Aarons?" Lou interrupted.

" Yeah?"

" Do you love her?" Lou asked.

He smiled, a look that suggested he'd found something of great value.

" That's the first time someone's ever asked me that without saying 'did'." Mr. Aarons said, putting a hand on her shoulder in a grandfatherly sort of manner. " Yes. I love her."

" Is that why you never got married, because of Leslie?"

He nodded.

" Does she love you too?"

Mr. Aarons looked at the picture, then skywards. " Yeah, I think so."

" I'll bet she does." Lou said firmly, staring up at him. " I'll bet anything."

" You're a bright girl, Lou." Mr. Aarons stated.

" Thank you, sir." She replied sheepishly, blushing.

" You better get home." He told her, patting her shoulder.

" Oh, yeah," Lou checked her watch, heading for the door.

" Be early tomorrow, there's something else show you." Mr. Aarons called after her.

" What, sir?" She turned.

" Something of Leslie's and mine. I think you'll like it." He said mysteriously.

" Okay." Lou nodded, " Bye, Mr. Aarons!"

As she was running back down the street, a thought crossed her mind.

_Next time, I'll say bye to Leslie too. I bet she'll like that._

* * *

**Okay, so here's the first chapter, don't forget to review, let me know your thoughts. Also, this is like 56 years later, and I'm not psychic, so I just wrote it kind of like today. Come on. Do you really think there'll be flying cars and buses? This isn't the Jetsons, people. So, review, and I'll see you soon for chapter two. Jolly dragons, everyone!**


	2. Welcome to My World

Lou started awake early Tuesday morning, promptly smacking her alarm clock, and rolling back over crossly.

" Dumb birds," she muttered to no one in particular, covering her head with her pillow in attempt to muffle the cheery chirping coming from outside her window, " Don't they have anything better to do?"

" Lou! Are you up?!" Harper called loudly downstairs.

She could practically hear his jolly smile.

Ugh. Freaking morning people.

" Yeah!" Lou yelled back, reluctantly dragging herself from her warm bed.

The frigid wood floor was unpleasant beneath her feet, but she didn't register it in her mind, as she hurried out of her bedroom for the bathroom.

Terry, coming from his room from across the hall, had the same destination. Lou sped up, but her big brother was faster, and he shoved her aside, making her land on the floor with a dull thud, and he tauntingly danced into the bathroom before slamming the door and locking it.

Lou huffed from her place on the floor, rolling her eyes at her brother's childish behavior. This is what she got for being the youngest. And the maturest.

Her father's door opened to her left, and he stopped short when her saw her lying in the hallway.

Gunner Greenbriar was a man of 6'2, with a curt, brooding nature and loud, low voice that rumbled. He was sort of unapproachable, with cold, emotionless eyes that made you squirm.

Lou and all of her brothers took after him; All tall, freckly, and brunette, with a slightly cleft chin and arching eyebrows.

Only Lou was a bit different. While her father and brothers had brown eyes, Lou had green. Her mother's eyes. Perhaps that was why her father would never look her in them.

" What're you doing?" Gunner asked her, raising an eyebrow.

Lou's befuddled, morning-mind told her to growl, " Don't judge me." But she thought better of it, sliding her blank mask on and kept her tone bland as she fibbed, " I fell."

_No point in whining about it like some little baby_. She thought.

" Well, try not be so clumsy." Her father said, his voice snappish.

" Yes sir." Lou got up robotically, making her way downstairs for breakfast without looking at her father again.

She plopped into her seat, looking from the towering stack of pancakes on her plate, to the twins, who were each wolfing down a bigger stack.

" Eat up, Little Lou," said Ray thickly, a bit of syrup dribbling down his chin. " Then maybe you'll actually put some meat on those bones," Ronny continued laughingly, gesturing to her skinny arms and chugging a glass of milk.

Lou didn't reply, and reached across the table for the cereal box, only to see Mike sit down and snatch it first.

He smirked at her, pouring the cereal into his bowl with some milk, and chomping his bites deliberately.

" Oh, Lou," Harper exclaimed suddenly, his voice taking on that horrible, 'mother hen' tone, "You're not going to school like that, are you?" He pointed fussily at her ruffled appearance.

Lou only shrugged as though to say, "Whatever," and settled on shoving a whole piece of toast in her mouth before going back upstairs and into the bathroom at last.

She grabbed a towel from the cabinet and turned on the shower, only pausing when she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror.

Lou observed that her bed head was worse than usual; her hair nothing more than a massive amount of tangles, her bangs jutting upward as though they'd been curled that way.

No wonder Harper was so worried.

Sometimes, she thought he was going to be majoring in cosmetology and not political science.

She tore her gaze away from the mirror to step into the tub, not at all shocked to find the water was cold; her brothers always used all the hot water.

Fifteen minutes later, she stepped out of the shower, wrapping herself in the towel and standing in front of the mirror once more.

Lou pulled the wet hair from her eyes, drying it, then brushing it.

She hated brushing it. It was the worst part, the old bristles scrapped her scalp and tugged on the particularly stubborn knots in her hair.

After her hair was relatively tame, and there was a fair bit of it stuck in the brush, she hastened out of the bathroom and into her room to dress.

Dressing was just a task for her. All her clothes were never really hers, only faded hand-me-downs from her brothers, and one old dress of her mother's for church.

The only place she'd be caught dead wearing a dress.

By the time she'd marched back downstairs, her brothers were done with breakfast, and her bus was honking outside.

" Bye!" Lou called hurriedly, pulling on her hoodie and backpack.

She hit the porch running; she couldn't miss her bus, then she'd have to walk to school and be late, which meant detention.

She hissed bitterly as she realized it was raining, but kept running as she yanked up her hood.

Of course, she didn't bring her umbrella.

At times like these, she swore the universe had it out for her.

Lou skidded to a halt in front of the huge vehicle and boarded immediately.

She absolutely loathed Tuesdays. Tuesday was Wen's worst day. He seemed to be at the peak of his bullying on this day, even going as far to beat people up.

" Well, well," he said, catching her by her soaked sleeve as she passed by, " Did the poor wittle farm gwirl forget hewr umbwella?" By his side, Andy sniggered loyally.

Lou jerked her arm away emotionlessly, and slipped into her seat, looking out the window at the grey sky, blurred by the pelting rain drops.

_Pitter patter, pitter patter,_ they went.

She tapped her hands on her knees, going for a similar sound.

_Pat pat, pat pat_, they went instead.

She liked it.

_Pitter patter, pitter patter, pat pat, pat pat-_ " Hey, Greenbriar!" said a female voice.

Oh, perfect. Because Wen wasn't bad enough.

That would be GiGi Jeffrey, the leader of a preppy trio of girly-girl eight graders, called the Glossers.

GiGi was pretty enough, with flowing red hair and clear grey eyes, but she wasn't nearly as nice on the inside. She was possibly the meanest female to walk the Earth. She always wore some ridiculous shade of pastel and too much make up.

She had two minions as well.

One of them was Abby Clark, a thin faced, blonde girl with such a high-pitched voice she sounded like a cartoon character. She seemed to be second in command, judging by the way GiGi always went, " Abby!", followed by an order or a question.

The other was Bonnie Finns, a brunette girl who was easily the best-looking of all the Glossers. She had a glittering smile, big blue eyes, and a simper as sweet as honey.

GiGi seemed to shove Bonnie to the back, so that she couldn't eclipse GiGi's own beauty and authority.

There were three things that you could be sure about with this little trio;

One: the Glossers were going to wear too much lip gloss, their trademark.

Two: the Glossers were going to strut around in heels fit to break ankles.

And three: the Glossers were going to torture Lou Greenbriar.

" Hey, she's talking to you, _Lou-ser_!" Abby squeaked.

" Like my new coat?" GiGi asked Lou patronizingly, straightening her extravagant pink puffy jacket.

" Oh, Gi, this fur is so soft, what is it?" Abby trilled wonderingly, fingering the fur adorned hood, as Bonnie threw in a wide eyed, "Ooh!"

" It's genuine fox fur," purred GiGi impressively as her minions exclaimed, "Oh!", in unison.

Lou knew what they were doing. They were trying to make her jealous and insecure because they had money to buy new, expensive clothes and she didn't.

Only thing was, there was no way in heck she'd want that huge, pink _monstrosity_ GiGi was wearing.

* * *

Lou drummed her fingers on the desk, staring blankly at the big, dry-erase board.

_Math is stupid_, she resolved, not understanding any of the problems, _When am I going to use this crud anyway?_

Apparently, the teacher thought that every time they say a circle, they would want to know the circumference of it!

The urge to bang her head on the desk was becoming overwhelming.

" Howdy there," whispered Wen's annoying voice in her ear. " Are them math prob'ems too dang hard for the dumb lil' farmer gal?"

Was he seriously imitating her slight _hint_ of a southern accent? Seriously?

_Kill me now_. She thought, letting her head go _plunk_ onto the desk.

* * *

Lunch was worse than math. Sure, it was usually people's favorite period, next to recess. But not Lou's.

All she wanted to do was sit and eat her peanut-butter sandwich, but no, because Lou could never have a moment's peace.

The Glossers sat across from her, smiling widely in false innocents.

" Oh, hello there, Lou," said GiGi. " We were wondering if you would eat with us," Bonnie asked sweetly.

Lou stared blankly.

Abby grinned a little bigger. " So will you?" She squeaked.

Lou looked from GiGi to her minions to the 'popular' table, which was full of the coolest kids in school, looking over at her, smug and expectant.

Something was definitely up.

" No," Lou answered finally, biting into her sandwich.

GiGi looked startled. " What d'you mean, 'no'?" She demanded, frustration coming into her voice.

" I mean no." Lou said indifferently. " You should be jumping up and down at the chance to sit with us, farm girl!" Abby squealed angrily.

Lou shrugged.

They probably just wanted her to sit over there so they could dump their protein-shakes in her lap or something.

The bell rang; end of lunch hour.

Lou walked away from the Glossers unconcernedly, though inwardly grinning at the looks on their faces.

Since it was still raining, recess was cancelled, meaning that they would have inside-recess. And that meant...

" Dodgeball! Why does it have to be dodgeball!" Lou exclaimed to herself, ducking to avoiding being smacked by a red ball.

The sounds of rubber colliding with skin and yelps of pain echoed through the gym.

Wen and Andy ruled this game, hitting people left and right, guffawing as their schoolmates winced and cried out when the ball hit them.

Lou, having grown up with brothers, two of them sports stars, had yet to be hit.

She lifted her leg as a dodgeball flew at her, and it zoomed under her, finding some other target. " Ha!"

Suddenly, a ball was speeding toward her face, this time finding its mark.

Her nose.

" OW!" Lou fell backwards onto her butt, clapping a hand over her face. Something warm and wet was seeping from her nostrils; the blood ran down her lips, stubbornly infiltrating its way into her mouth, filling it with that tangy metal taste. Her eyes watered and she almost didn't notice that the game had stopped. Almost.

" Ha, ha," gloated Wen, now standing over her. " Guess the farm girl can't do anything-" He was cut off as Lou stood up abruptly, not giving anyone or thing a backwards glance as she skulked off.

Though she took extra care to bump roughly into Andy's shoulder on her way out, the gym doors swinging shut behind her.

Once gone, she broke into a run, suddenly feeling self-conscious, as a few meandering students in the hall started to stare at her.

" I'm fine." She muttered, trying hard to convince herself.

Lou didn't need any help.

She didn't need to run, crying, to the nurse like an overdramatic wimp. Then the nurse would call Lou's father, and it would be a whole big deal.

She was fine. Just fine.

She sped into the girls' bathroom, yanking some paper towels out of the dispenser and began mopping up her dripping nose.

" Dodgeball. Why did it have to be dodgeball?" Lou sighed again.

Needless to say, at the end of the day, when Lou slunk back to her bus she was exhausted and far more cynical than usual, but it was well masked by her bored face and dead eyes. It always was.

She sat in the front of the bus, because she would be the first to get off today.

Lou was going to go straight to Mr. Aarons', as he'd told her to be early the day before.

The ride was the usual, loud, bumpy, balled up paper hitting her in the back of the head.

The bus began to approach the familiar dirt road and Lou stood up, giving the bus driver an explanation, and then jumping down from the vehicle, skipping the steps all together.

_Mighta misplayed that_, she chided herself, as her nose gave an unpleasant throb.

She couldn't believe it was still raining. The world hated her.

She pulled up her hood bad-temperedly.

Lou walked carefully down the muddy path, to see Mr. Aarons out on the porch, waiting with an umbrella.

" Hey there," he called, squinting at her. He could probably see her swollen nose even from there.

" Hi, sir." Lou greeted back unenthusiastically, standing awkwardly in front of him.

" Bad day?" Mr. Aarons chuckled, tilting the umbrella over her.

" I've had worse," Lou shrugged.

They set off back down the path, but veered down another one, leading through fields.

" What happened?" asked Mr. Aarons, curious and concernedly.

But Lou wasn't listening, as she'd just caught sight of something unusual. " Whoa," she breathed in awe as they came to a stop.

There was a wooden bridge, over a gurgling creek.

It was probably the coolest thing she'd ever seen. It had an arch of tree branches, at the top of which sat a sign shaped like a shield.

" Nothing crushes us," Lou read aloud, eyes tracing over the faded paint.

" That's right." Mr. Aarons smiled.

" Where does this lead, sir?" Lou asked, looking up at him.

" Terabithia." He told her, his eyes gazing up at the sign fondly.

" I've never heard of that." She tilted her head, puzzled.

" I shouldn't think so, only two people alive know about it." Mr. Aarons said.

Lou's brow furrowed.

" Let's go," Mr. Aarons started ahead, and Lou ducked back under the umbrella to follow.

He led Lou through a kind of forest, stopping in front of an old, broken down truck.

There was a wind chime on it.

" What happened to it?" Lou questioned, inspecting it.

" The Dark Master doesn't like outsiders." said Mr. Aarons sagely.

" The Dark who?" Lou was bewildered.

" Look over there." He pointed to a kind of treehouse.

" Oh, wow!" exclaimed Lou, abandoning the shelter of the umbrella to run over to it. It had a tarp over it, and a swing underneath.

Like the bridge, it appeared to have been built by children.

" Can I go in?" Lou wondered. " You may enter my palace." Mr. Aarons nodded.

Lou raised an eyebrow before climbing the ladder into it.

The inside of the house was full of drawings and paintings, kept safe by the tarp. Lou saw that the drawings progressively got better and better, and she realized the first one was probably done by someone her age.

" Did you make these, sir?" Lou asked, voice full of wonder.

" Yep." Mr. Aarons answered.

Lou examined one of a large, greenish creature. " What's this?"

" That's the troll." He said lightly, as though trolls were normal.

" And this one?" Lou pointed at a painting of something that looked rather like a dragonfly.

" That's a Terabithian Warrior. From the Treetop Provinces." Mr. Aarons said in a matter of fact sort of way.

Lou felt disoriented, never had she been more confused in her life. " I don't think I understand, sir." She said slowly.

" What do you mean?" Mr. Aarons asked.

" This game," Lou elaborated, " I don't know how to play."

Mr. Aarons smiled.

" This isn't a game. It's for real."

Lou sighed.

Was Mr. Aarons a victim of dementia or something? Was he seeing things? Or was she just _not_ seeing things?

Lou looked up at him. " Show me." She demanded, not willing to be in the dark any longer.

" Alright." He was still smiling.

Mr. Aarons led her through the forest, to a tall tree.

He climbed up and stared off into the distance. " Come on," he called to Lou, not looking away.

Lou climbed up tentatively.

" This is my kingdom." Mr. Aarons said placidly.

Lou gazed outward like him, but all she saw were a bunch of grassy hills and fields. " It's not much," she commented, humoring him.

Mr. Aarons laughed. " Close your eyes." He said.

She obliged. " Now what?"

" Just keep your mind wide open." He whispered.

With that Lou opened her eyes.

She was literally at a loss for what to say except for, " Oh my God."

Mountains, hills, valleys, a sparkling river! Lush purple flowers everywhere. A huge castle, strange creatures, bells, it was amazing.

When she looked back at Mr. Aarons, there was a shining silver crown in his head. " Welcome to my world, Lou."


	3. A Song Called Terabithia

This was truly unbelievable.

Lou had seen a plethora of crazy things in her life.

GiGi Jeffery inviting her to sit at the cool table, Wen getting an actual _B- _on a test, but this, this was just insane.

An amazing insane.

An unbelievable that she believed in somehow.

She drummed her fingers reflexively on Mr. Aarons' kitchen table, trying to make sense of everything.

" So. The king of Terabithia huh, sir?" She asked, voice cracking awkwardly.

Mr. Aarons smiled reminiscently while fixing two cups of hot chocolate, "Yeah, we found it when we were about your age."

Lou tilted her head, " We?"

Mr. Aarons' smile faltered a little. "Me and Leslie."

" Oh." Lou muttered, looking down, " Sorry."

" Don't be," Mr. Aarons shrugged unconvincingly, " This is why I don't normally show people Terabithia. Brings up uncomfortable conversations."

_Or they'll think you're crazy, Lou thought._ " So, uh, why did you go there in the first place?"

Mr. Aarons sat down and passed her a mug. " We were having a rough time at school. With everything I guess." He explained, frowning.

Lou took a sip of hot chocolate with a roll of her eyes, " Tell me about it."

" We needed a place to just... be, I guess," Mr. Aarons glanced at her appraisingly, " You don't like school much either?" He asked with a slight chuckle.

Lou snorted. " That's an understatement."

The old man smiled kindly. " I guess you get a lot of grief for being a farm kid, huh?"

Lou tugged on the neck of her brother's old t-shirt, " Yeah."

" That was me too," he nodded, " Leslie was my only friend."

Lou's insides churned. The words _not fair_ ran through her mind.

" What about your family?" Mr. Aarons asked, " Gunner's a good man," he added optimistically.

Lou sighed, " A good one, yes, one that's around much, no."

Mr. Aarons' eyebrows lifted, " What do you mean?"

Lou shrugged, " Nothing, I guess I wish he was at home more." She thought on it. " Actually, no, no I don't." She decided.

" Why not?" Mr. Aarons asked, " When I was you're age, I would've given anything for my father to just look at me." He laughed slightly.

Lou tapped her nails on the sides of the mug with a little _chink chink_ sound, " That's the problem. If he's around he'll _look_ at me."

" What do you mean?" Mr. Aarons asked again.

Lou let her head drop back onto her neck, closing her eyes before opening them again, " Never mind, it's silly."

He laughed, " You're talking to the King of Terabithia."

Lou smiled a little, " I guess I just feel like he's disappointed. My brothers are all so _great_, and _perfect_, with their _college applications_ and their _sports medals_, and then there's me... Little Lou, the runt of the litter, isn't best at anything, can't even carry on the _family name_." She groaned, " I can't stand it when he looks at me, 'cause when he does he's always judging me, staring at me like he got a something cheap and stupid but he paid a million bucks for it. He looks at me like he got ripped off."

Mr. Aarons nodded, " I get it. But I'm sure that's not true. I'm sure you're good at a lot of things."

" Well when you figure out what, gimme a call, I'd love to know," Lou sighed sarcastically.

Mr. Aarons laughed.

They sat in silence for a minute.

" Mr. Aarons?" Lou broke it. " Yes?" He looked up.

" Will you tell me about Leslie?" She asked tentatively.

" What do you want to know?"

Lou shrugged, " I dunno, what was she like? What did she like to do?"

Mr. Aarons smiled. " She was so special. She was a writer, she was so good at making up stories and games, she saw things her way, and showed me how to see that way too. She wasn't trying to be anything, or impress anyone," he laughed, " Though she certainly did. She used to beat me at running," he smiled sadly, " Never quite got my rematch."

Lou felt her stomach twinge in pity and her mouth go dry, " Maybe someday you will," she suggested, not really realizing what she said until it had already slipped past her lips.

Mr. Aarons didn't look uncomfortable in the slightest at the mention of death or life after thereof.

No, he smiled optimistically, a grin of hope and happiness, " Yeah. Someday."

* * *

Lou walked home sopping wet, worn out shoes caked with mud and soaked all the way through, her hair was plastered to her forehead in an annoyingly sticky way, and her clothes were becoming heavy and clingy at the same time.

But oddly, she didn't mind.

For once, the bright side was the one she was walking on, Mr. Aarons said to visit Terabithia anytime, that it was hers now too.

Maybe tomorrow she'll go back.

Yeah, tomorrow.

She'd said bye to Leslie this time. Mr. Aarons had looked about ready to cry.

Wow, that would've been weird.

Old, hermit Jesse Aarons crying.

_Weird_.

The screen door creaked louder than Lou would've liked as she entered the house.

" Hey Little Lou!" Ronny and Ray called from the kitchen table, as ever eating.

The corners of her mouth actually lifted half a centimeter. " Hi."

Harper looked up from his homework, his smile-detector going off, and he grinned, " You seem to be in a good mood," He commented happily.

" Do I?" Lou replied vaguely, already starting up the stairs.

" Yeah," Mike started suspiciously.

" Why?" Terry asked.

Lou hummed to herself quietly, still climbing, " I got an A on my math test," she fibbed elatedly, smiling secretly to herself and shutting the door to her room to write a new song.

* * *

Lou had never had much talent with names.

Music was her expressive outlet, not words.

Example, her first and only toy, a teddy bear she gave up years ago, she'd named it something so ludicrously simple that she still laughed.

Mr. Bear.

Yes. Mr. Bear.

Oh, shut up.

Anyhow, Lou had always been content with her musical scores, lyric-less and title-less though they were, she'd always been happy to write them, happy to play them.

But for this particular song, she found a name had just come to mind.

It was just there, whispering slyly in her ear, and it clicked.

So she'd written it.

She'd written it for the piano. Her favorite instrument.

The music was slow at first, melancholy and somewhat stifled, as though trying to express blindness.

Then there was the transition, a few beats of what seemed to be the awakening.

And suddenly, it _awoke_ and the music burst into fluttering butterflies, wonderful rays of sun, wonder and enchantment seeping out through each note.

There was only one name that could describe it.

One name that could be the title.

And so Lou wrote a song called Terabithia.


	4. Eye for an Eye

Something had gotten into Lou Greenbriar.

She was different.

She smiled for no reason.

She had a spring in her step.

Her grades were up. She was _happy_.

Lou bounded down the stairs on Monday morning, showered and smiling. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail, keeping it off her face.

She usually kept it down, a curtain to hide behind.

" Hey, Harper," she said as she sat down at the table, grabbing some pancakes.

Her eldest brother looked up from his book, " Yeah, Lou?"

She grinned a little, " I think it's time for a haircut,"

Harper raised his eyebrows, " Lou, I've been saying that for months."

His little sister shrugged, " I know, I just realized. Its falling into my eyes, it's annoying. I can't see."

Before she hadn't wanted to see.

She had wanted to just make it through.

And then she _saw_. That's when those bangs became very bothersome.

" So, will you cut my hair?" Harper smiled, " Okay, sure. When I have the time."

Lou beamed and speared a pancake with her fork, " Thanks," she shoved the syrup-smothered morsel in her mouth.

Ronny and Ray trampled down stairs and sat down on either side of their sister. " Little Lou is _eating_?" Ray exclaimed exaggeratedly.

Lou smiled, mouth closed and cheeks full, " She sure is," she slurred thickly.

" Alert the media!" Ronny shouted, ruffling her hair.

The eleven year old laughed.

The twins shared a look. Lou never laughed at their jokes. She hated being called Little Lou.

Next, Terry and Mike came down. Terry glowered at Lou, " You used all the hot water," he accused.

Lou shook her head, " I couldn't have, I was only in there for fifteen minutes."

Wait a sec. Lou always took the heat. What's going on?

" Hey, you ate all the pancakes!" Mike whined, " I wanted those, I'm a growing boy!"

His sister shrugged, " And I'm a growing girl. Sorry, Mikey, first come, first serve."

" _Mikey_? You haven't called me Mikey since we were kids,"

Lou just shrugged again. Outside, there was a honk.

" Bus is here," she stood up, going over to the front door to yank on her shoes and backpack, " Bye, guys!"

She was gone with a squeak of sneakers and slam of a screen door.

" Okay," Ronny and Ray raised their eyebrows, " Who was that and what have they done with our sister?"

* * *

Lou stepped up onto the bus, " Hi," she greeted the bus driver, heading to her normal seat.

" Hey, Lou-ser!" GiGi called from behind, " What's with the pony? Got tired of the old rat's nest?"

Her friends giggled, " Good one, Gi!" Abby squealed.

Lou turned in her seat to face the Glossers. " What's with the nose?" The sixth grader countered, " Got tired of your real one?"

GiGi opened her mouth almost automatically then closed it, eyes popping as she realized what Lou said.

The whole bus _ooh_-ed.

Lou Greenbriar never talked, let alone talked back to GiGi Jeffrey.

The bus stopped, squealing, and the doors opened. Students stood up and began to file out.

As Lou stepped off the bus, a manicured hand grabbed her wrist.

She was whipped around to face the Glossers. " Can I help you with something?" Lou inquired, yanking her hand away with a raised eyebrow.

GiGi put a hand on her hip, Abby crossed her arms and Bonnie merely gave her a haughty look. " Look, Greenbriar," the leader said, flipping her red hair, " I don't know what's the matter with you, but you've seemed to've forgotten something."

" We're at the top of the food chain," Abby chimed in.

" And you're not. You're at the bottom, actually. You seem to have forgotten your place," GiGi cut back in, smirking her glossy smirk.

Lou folded her arms. She said nothing. She knew it would just kill them to know they're not getting any sort of rise out of her. She smiled a mysterious smile at them and walked away without a word.

_Chew on that, Glossy. _

* * *

In class, a spitball flew at the back of Lou's head.

Another.

And another.

Lou whirled around to see Wen and Andy snickering.

" Ms. Greenbriar!" The teacher shrieked, " Eyes on the board, please!"

Lou mumbled an apology and turned back around.

Another spitball.

This one landed on her cheek. _Oh, yuck_, she thought, wiping it away.

The bell rang to signal the end of class.

Lou stayed in her seat.

Wen and Andy began to pass when she stuck her foot out.

Wen tripped with an ungainly yelp and fell flat on his face.

Andy began to help him, but Wen shoved him away to prevent his pride from being even more wounded.

" Bye, _Wendall_," Lou taunted as she sauntered out, " See you next _fall_."

Wen blushed at his full name.

* * *

As Lou got on the bus, she was feeling pretty unstoppable.

She was pretty sure she'd aced her math quiz, she actually played basketball at recess.

She'd stood up to the Glossers and Wen and Andy.

Man, did she feel good.

She hopped off the bus and practically skipped up to Mr. Aarons' house.

" Hey, Lou," he was on the porch. " Hi, sir!" She replied.

Mr. Aarons laughed, " You seem to be in a good mood."

" I had the best day," Lou revealed, smiling widely.

" What happened?" Mr. Aarons asked.

" I stood up to the mean kids at my school," Lou said.

" How'd you do that?"

" I tripped Wendall Hayes and-"

" You tripped someone?"

Lou clasped her hands behind her back, " Well, yeah. He always does it to me."

" I see."

Suddenly, she didn't feel so great.

Now, that she thought on it, Wen had looked pretty upset.

He was so embarrassed. The way his cheeks lit up in a blush.

When she'd insulted GiGi's nose, she'd looked so mad. Almost... Hurt.

Just like Lou felt all the time.

_Oh man_.

" You know," Mr. Aarons said as he began to lead the way to Terabithia, " Once in school, Leslie and I got back at this eighth grade girl, Janice Avery. She'd always been mean to me and everyone else," he looked back at Lou, " Anyway, one day, we faked a love note that said it was from the guy she liked. Janice had been heartbroken when the guy had no clue what she was talking about."

Lou nodded, " Well, she got what she deserved, didn't she?"

Mr. Aarons shook his head, " I thought so at first. Later on, though, we found out that Janice's dad hit her all the time. It was this whole big thing at school."

Lou's eyes widened.

" Leslie talked to her, gave her some advice. And gum," he smiled, eyes twinkling, " They became friends. And when Leslie, er, well you know... Ah, this other kid, Scott Hoager-"

" _Hoager_? As in Mr. Hoager, the math teacher?"

" Yeah. Anyway, he said something to me about me being the fastest runner, and I got really angry and socked him in the nose."

" Don't suppose you feel bad about that?"

" I do, actually. Anyhow, later him and his friend Gary tripped me. Janice saw. She knew I was having a hard time dealing with the whole Leslie situation. She punched Gary right in the face, he got a nosebleed from heck," he chuckled a little, " Janice is still one of my very best friends."

Lou scratched her head, " Wow."

" My point is," Mr. Aarons continued, " You never know what's going on with a person. You can never know what they're dealing with. So don't be so quick to judge."

" Yeah. Yes sir," Lou nodded.

Well now she felt terrible.

After all, as her mother once told her, " An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind."


End file.
